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Wearable gadgets, curved smartphones and new game consoles defined technology in 2013. That’s
why it’s no surprise they make up the bulk of our top 10 devices of the year.

Some of these devices are essentially much-better versions of earlier gadgets, while others are
innovations that are exploring possibilities we haven’t seen before.

1. Google Glass

Glass has yet to be released to the public, but no other device has had as much public attention
as Google’s high-tech eyewear.

The pioneering smartglasses are the most-expensive item on our list — at $1,500 a pair — and
Google sold them to a few thousand selected users, most of whom seem to have fallen under the
device’s spell.

Like smartwatches, Glass connects to users’ smartphones to perform tasks such as playing music,
sending messages and making phone calls. Glass also can shoot pictures and record video.

But 2013 was just the warmup. Glass is expected to be released to the public in 2014, and if
Google can find the right price and a better design, it might have a huge consumer hit on its
hands.

2. Apple iPad Air

Apple has been noticeably absent on this list until now, and that’s because it didn’t really
innovate in 2013. Instead it focused on evolutionary improvements, most of which were marginal —
but not when it came to the fifth-generation iPad.

The tech giant released the iPad Air — a thinner, lighter, sleeker version of its popular tablet
— in November. The $499 iPad Air is 0.29-inch thick and weighs exactly a pound. It’s also outfitted
with Apple’s speedy new A7 64-bit chip, making it perfect for gaming.

The iPad Air is an impressive redesign to an already-innovative product.

3. Google Chromecast

Chromecast is a digital TV receiver that functions much like Roku and the Apple TV, but at a far
lower price and in a much-smaller package. The $35 Chromecast plugs into the TV’s HDMI outlet and
streams content from users’ smartphones, tablets, laptops and computers with a Wi-Fi
connection.

When it launched, Chromecast worked only with Netflix, YouTube and other Google services. Since
then, it has been updated to also work with HBO Go, Pandora, Hulu Plus and other online
subscription services.

If you’re looking for a reliable, low-cost digital TV receiver, look no further than
Chromecast.

4. (tie) Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One

This year was the first in more than seven that Sony and Microsoft released new video-game
consoles. Sony came out with the PlayStation 4, and Microsoft launched the Xbox One.

The two systems are fairly similar, offering 500-gigabyte hard drives in similarly styled black
shells. But the companies are taking different approaches in marketing their products.

Sony is going after hard-core gamers, offering them the ability to easily share video of
themselves playing games over the Internet by tapping a “share” button on their game
controllers.

Meanwhile, Microsoft wants the Xbox One to be the center of users’ home theaters. By saying “
Xbox on” followed by a command, users can control their entertainment systems with their voices.
The Xbox One also can load specific users’ profiles and preferences by detecting them with the
Kinect motion-sensor device.

For now, neither system has separated itself as the clear-cut top choice, and picking between
them comes down to users’ preferences. The PS4 retails for $399.99, while the Xbox One goes for
$499.99, but good luck finding either one. At many stores, they are back-ordered.

6. Nokia Lumia 1020

The Lumia 1020 is one of the most impressive gadgets we saw this year, yet it had one of the
worst launches.

The Nokia smartphone has top-of-the-line specifications, including a 720p HD 4.5-inch screen and
the highest-resolution smartphone camera, with a whopping 41 megapixels. Typical smartphones have 8
megapixel cameras. The Lumia camera lets users take pictures they can then zoom in on without
decreasing the quality of the image.

But the Lumia 1020 runs on the Windows Phone operating system, and when it came out in the
summer, the platform was still missing many popular apps.

Since then, the Windows Phone system has been beefed up with more apps, and the price of the
Lumia 1020 has been cut. Nokia lowered the phone’s price to $199 with a two-year contract, and
Windows Phone added Instagram, Vine and Waze — three apps that had been noticeably missing.

Now, at a competitive price and with more apps available to flex the device’s camera muscles,
the Lumia 1020 is one of the best smartphones you can buy if photos are a priority.

7. Leap Motion Controller

Leap Motion wowed the world in 2012 with YouTube videos showing an extremely accurate
motion-sensor device for consumer laptops, and in 2013, the San Francisco startup delivered on its
promise by releasing the Leap Motion Controller.

Slightly bigger than a USB jump drive, the Leap Motion Controller enables users to control their
computer with hand motions. The device can be used to navigate around a desktop or play games.

The Leap Motion Controller is on this list more for its technical innovation than its practical
use in the home and office.

8. Samsung Galaxy Gear

Pebble, a small Kickstarter project that went viral in 2012, brought smartwatches to the
attention of the tech world. But Samsung introduced the technology to the masses.

The Galaxy Gear seems like everything a spy could want, but it’s a first-generation device. That
usually means there are flaws, and the Galaxy Gear was no exception. The device works only with
select Samsung devices, it lacks any must-have apps, it’s very expensive at $299, and it’s kind of
big for a watch.

Regardless of the drawbacks, Samsung said it had sold 800,000 units one month after the U.S.
release.

9. LG G Flex

The LG G Flex isn’t on sale in the United States, but it launched in South Korea this year and
features promising new technologies that we might see on more smartphones in 2014.

For starters, the G Flex is one of two devices that went on sale this year with a curved screen.
Although in my experience, the curve doesn’t offer much improvement of visual quality or
ergonomics, the technology behind it is great news for users in terms of smartphone durability.

The G Flex uses a plastic OLED screen. That type of screen is thinner than what we see in phones
today, and it is far more durable than what modern-day devices use. You can take the LG G Flex,
whose curve runs from top to bottom, and flatten it out on a table. The device still works, and the
screen doesn’t crack.

Additionally, LG covered the back of the phone with a “self-healing coating.” That doesn’t mean
the device is impervious to scratches, but users don’t have to worry much about their keys messing
up the phone when in the same pocket.

The G Flex might come to the United States next year, but it’s still more of a concept phone.
Either way, the technologies that LG showcased with its curved phone are promising.

10. Motorola Moto X

Motorola began advertising the Moto X before the smartphone was officially unveiled, partly to
generate excitement over its possibilities. The Moto X is assembled in the United States, and
buyers can customize the phones to their liking.

Unfortunately, the Moto X wasn’t as customizable as most users expected. Buyers can choose the
aesthetics of the device, but they can pick between having only 16 or 32 gigabytes of storage.
Despite these small disappointments, the Moto X is a trailblazer for customizable devices.

After the release of the Moto X, Motorola lent its support for a Phonebloks-led movement to
develop customizable phones. Phonebloks is a concept crafted by a Dutch designer that calls for
creating smartphones with modular parts, similar to Lego building blocks.

The Moto X makes the list (just barely) for its innovative spirit and Motorola’s pioneering
efforts.